At present, I am conducting a field-based research on water flow and salt transport
in the shallow saline aquifer under the Naval Air Station Lemoore (funded by DoD).
Recent community-based projects (funded by the state) include monitoring of the upper
Fresno River watershed and the Upper San Joaquin River watershed involving water quality
and discharge measurement, watershed delineation and snowpack calculations using GIS,
and estimation of the climate change effects on the watersheds. Other basic and applied
studies include measurement and modeling of unstable or finger flow in porous media
(basic science), engineering improvement of irrigation systems in the San Joaquin
Valley to raise water use efficiency, and irrigation scheduling (download Irrigation Scheduling Tables - an Excel program).

Recent Project Summaries: Shallow Saline Aquifer Monitoring Program at NAS Lemoore, funded by DoD ($138,566), 2010-1012. The Lemoore area in the western San Joaquin
Valley has long been affected by soil and groundwater salinization due to long term
irrigation and drainage from agricultural fields. The major objective of this study
is to develop a groundwater monitoring program for NAS Lemoore based on solid science
and in concert with parallel studies on plant and wildlife habitats. The goal is to
maintain the best possible environmental conditions for the DoD training missions.
The major scientific tasks are to: (1) evaluate all existing monitoring wells on the
property and install or redrill new wells as necessary; (2) evaluate soil and groundwater
qualities over time and space to develop specific recommendations on soil amendment,
water treatment and crop planting; and (3) conduct GIS data analyses and develop water
resources management recommendations. A team of undergraduate students are hired to
perform both the field and laboratory studies. A Rockwork model is developed by graduate
student Ron Holcomb to study the saline groundwater dynamics and the geology of the
aquifers. Based on that, MODFLOW and GIS models will be developed for trend analysis
and predictions. Recommendations on water supply, plant and wildlife accommodations
will be developed based on the interconnected soil, water, plant and wildlife studies.

Fresno River-Hensley Lake Water Quality Monitoring Project, funded by California EPA, 2009-1010 ($187,366, collaborating with ecologist Dr. Steve
Blumenshine at CSUF and Central Sierra Watershed Committee). My responsibility is
to develop GIS-based Nutrient Loading and Species Distribution Models that are capable
of analyzing the fate and transport of nutrients and exotic species in the upper Fresno
River watershed. Using the water quality data collected by the team, chart and quantify
the water quality and species distribution within the watershed. Identify watershed
land uses associated with high nutrient loads using GIS. Determine threshold limits
on algal growth inducers, alone and in combination with each other. Estimate the assimilative
capacities of the Fresno River and Hensley Lake for these nutrients; identify areas
in the watershed where nutrient input is highest, and attempt to determine whether
the sources are point or non-point in nature. Using the model, identify and analyze
various possible reduction strategies.